By: Daisy Jane
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Houdini, Waffles, Mercy and Morag are at the seaside! Join the funtastic four as they make a strange new friend with a fishy perfume. Not to worry, four become five (for this adventure) as Houdini and friends discover a salty new world of different creatures in all shapes and sizes! A sun-soaked day at the beach has never been this much fun!
The author studied to be a teacher with English as her major. However, marriage and the arrival of four sons soon put an end to her official teaching career. An avid reader, she spent many hours reading to her sons and now her grandchildren. During the very severe COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa and inspired by the delightful “doodles” of her sister-in-law, they embarked on writing and illustrating a story together, just for fun! Houdini has become very special to them both and sharing his adventures with the world is more than a dream come true.
What delightful stories! Our 6-year grandson lives in another part of South Africa to us. We sent him copies of both the Houdini stories and then, using our own copies, we read to him over a Whatsapp video call. He could look at the illustrations on his side while we read the actual story from our side. What a special time. He absolutely loved the stories and so did we. He could relate well to the characters and also appreciate the underlying themes of kindness and courage and friendship that he identified. Well done to both the author and the illustrator.
I began reading these online to my grandson during lock-down and it was such a great bonding tool for us. Usually the kids are busy with a hundred other things when I Skype, but he made sure that he was around to hear another chapter of little Houdini and his collection of adorable friends. Though the stories have a distinct South African flavour, they have wonderful, subtle lessons on morals, social skills, friendship, loyalty and bravery and will be loved and adored by children all over the world. Looking forward to the next one and many more to come after that.
What a wonderful story which will enthrall many a young reader. Beautifully illustrated with such cute drawings of the characters. The combined talents of both the author and artist work fantastically. I know that my grand kiddies look forward to additions to the collection.
This book is really good for little growing brains. It shows the heart of friendship to the young readers. What an amazing book!
What delightful stories (both "The Adventures of Houdini the Hedgehog" and "Houdini's Seaside Adventure") with such beautiful illustrations. The homegrown characters and familiar South African creatures and settings make the stories even more enjoyable. The 'fun facts' that creep in add other dimension to the story, which provide so many avenues for further exploration and discovery. Olivia loved reading about the oyster catchers in the second book as she has seen these on her holidays at the coast. The familiar children's concerns about fears of the dark, making friends, learning life lessons are so wonderfully interwoven into the story that it helps little ones to realize everyone, kids and animals alike, face the same challenges and we can all be kind in helping others.
An excercise in teaching children to employ all senses and so benefit by nature and creation .It is fine to be scared at times ,but when your support system is intact ,the impact is far less it is unwise to remove creatures from their natural habitat as they may not be able to adapt and could die. Littering especially plastic is bad ,as creatures see this as food which often cause their demise. You can do something to save our planet.,,
This second book of Houdini’s adventures is just as delightful as the first. This time we learn fascinating facts about penguins and life on the seashore. With the beautiful drawings and enchanting story , this is another 5 star production. Here we meet another set of little creatures... crabs, oyster catchers ,seagulls, octopus and starfish.. ..and they all need to learn how much more fun it is if they learn to work together.
There is a hint here that we might just be treated to another Houdini adventure dealing with one of the major problems of the world—litter!! I do hope so as I am so looking forward to reading more about this little creature and enjoying those wonderful drawings!!
